0.2088
7667766266
x

Digital Divide

iasparliament Logo
September 10, 2020

Why in news?

The report of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO’s) the survey of ‘Household Social Consumption on Education in India’ for July 2017-June 2018 was released.

What does the report highlight?

  • It highlights the poor state of computer and internet access in several States.
  • The disparities are glaring among different economic strata as well.
  • The digital gap that separates the privileged from the deprived remains unbridged years after the broadband policy of 2004.
  • Its effects are painfully evident during the pandemic as students struggle to log on to online classes.
  • Some poorly connected States have improved since the survey period.
  • But, the gaps are so stark that any development could only be modest.

What are the findings?

  • Only Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala had internet access exceeding 50% for urban and rural households taken together.
  • Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand exceeded 40%, unimpressive numbers still.
  • Large States like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had access below 20%.

What is critical?

  • In today’s environment, net access is critical.
  • Even where mobile phones and laptops are available, they cannot be meaningfully used in the absence of net access.
  • If net connectivity is 5% to 10% in rural Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal, only a slim minority can hope to do any academic work.
  • Many remote locations have reliability problems and power deficits, making it a challenge to keep gadgets operational even offline.

What is the target?

  • Prime Minister has announced in his Independence Day address that all villages would be connected with optical fibre cable in 1,000 days.
  • This enhanced target follows the one set in 2011 to link panchayats through a national optical fibre network.
  •  - to raise administrative capacities through information infrastructure.
  • Evidently, successive governments have dropped the ball.
  • States have not shown the alacrity to make a big leap either, and the deficit has now dealt a blow to students.

What could be done?

  • To make up for lost time, connectivity for education must be prioritised.
  • Mapping the needs of each district based on the NSO data will help identify areas where children do need equipment and connectivity.
  • Such efforts have been launched globally in the wake of COVID-19, some in partnership with the telecom sector to leverage its capacity for surveys and mapping.
  • Some companies in India have made the valuable suggestion that their used desktop computers could be refurbished and donated.
  • For this, the governments need to open a programme.
  • The government needs to look at all possibilities and go into overdrive to bridge the digital divide.

 

Source: The Hindu

Login or Register to Post Comments
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to review.

ARCHIVES

MONTH/YEARWISE ARCHIVES

sidetext
Free UPSC Interview Guidance Programme
sidetext